Blackberry Basil Corn Salad – A Guest Post

We are all doing well here, albeit tired. Joel has been working crazy hours (6am-8pm with a newborn should be illegal). Ladybug loves being a big sister and spends her days giving kisses and cuddles to the extreme. And Baby (hmm, I need to come up with a good nickname for her, huh?) is awesome. She sleeps great, is starting to eat great, and is really sweet. I have enjoyed seeing how her personality is so much different from her sister’s already, she is definitely more laid back. We are starting to get into the swing of things here, and I hope to someday have some new blog posts of my own up for you. But until then, I have some more awesome guest posts for you! Today is from my dear friend Korena, whom I met through the Daring Kitchen, and have grown to know better through Sourdough Surprises. Somedays I feel like she is my twin, although one who is more creative in the kitchen and takes better photos than me, haha.

Hi! I’m Korena from Korena in the Kitchen and I’m thrilled
to be contributing to Jenni’s blog while she’s busy welcoming a new person to
her family 🙂 I’m offering up a recipe for a salad that might seem like a weird combination –
raw corn and green beans? with blackberries? and basil? – but it has become one
of my favorite things to eat this summer. I would gladly eat corn raw straight
off the cob, so I am extremely happy with this sweet-tart-crunchy-herbaceous
salad.

I first came across the blackberry-basil combination when my
parents gifted me with some blackberry balsamic vinegar and basil-infused olive
oil from a trip to Leavenworth, Washington, with instructions to mix them
together as salad dressing or a bread dip. The first salad I made, I wanted to
lick the bowl clean – the dressing was so good! Basil and strawberry is perhaps
a better known herb-and-berry pairing, but blackberry is just as delicious, and
the fact that the blackberry bushes in my neighbourhood are positively dripping
with berries right now, and my basil plants are in full force, makes it a very
accessible combination.

I came up with this salad on a “use up the leftovers” night,
when I had blackberries on the counter, the previous dinner’s sautéed green
beans with hazelnuts in the fridge, and one lone cob of corn in the crisper
drawer. I threw it together in about 30 seconds and as soon as I tasted it, I
knew I was on to something. So simple, so flavourful, and so summery. If raw
corn and green beans aren’t your thing, feel free to lightly blanch them – but
either way, definitely give this salad a try while corn, blackberries, and
basil are still at their peak!

Blackberry Basil Corn Salad (Original Recipe by Korena)

Serves 3 – 4 as a side dish

2 cobs of corn

a handful of green beans

a large handful of blackberries

about 2 tbsp chopped toasted hazelnuts

a handful of fresh basil leaves

1 – 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper

Shuck the corn and slice the kernels off the cobs. Trim the
green beans and cut into 1” pieces. Place the corn and beans in a serving bowl
along with the blackberries and hazelnuts. Tear the basil leaves into small
pieces and add to the bowl. Drizzle over the olive oil and balsamic vinegar and
toss to coat. Add salt and pepper to taste plus more oil or vinegar if needed.
Enjoy!

Jenni lives in Des Moines, Iowa with her amazing husband, two girls, two dogs who think they are children, and a feisty cat. She is the creator of The Gingered Whisk, a recipe blog dedicated to finding easy, healthy-ish, and tasty weeknight meals that kids and adults alike will love. She is super passionate about helping every member of a family learn to love great food. When not cooking, eating, or thinking about food, she is often hiking around area parks, creating intricate legos castles with her girls, watching nerdy tv with her husband, or curled up in a corner somewhere reading a good book.

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2 Comments

Haha, I'm honoured to be your "twin" Jenni! Too bad that summer corn, basil and blackberries are nothing but a distant memory these days, now that cold wet October is here! But I'm already looking forward to eating this again next summer…

About Me

Hey You! Welcome to The Gingered Whisk! My name is Jenni, and I'm an Iowa girl and a mom of two. I empower parents and kids alike to explore the world of food, to discover easy & healthy weeknight meals, & to become little foodies through creative culinary adventures!